Odd Palmatum (Sango Kaku) air layering behavior??

[jeef16]

I'm lucky to have a rather large Palmatum in my backyard, and i started to air layer it this season. I took 6 air layerings to test how the tree responds. The tree has good genetics, roots rather quick and 5 of the air layers took, even the rather thick ones. However, the strangeness happened after i harvested. I took the proper aftercare for the air layerings but nearly all of them had an issue where the leaves turned to crisps in like a day or so. In my experiments i can largely mitigate this by keeping the air layering's pot in a small dish of water. My first air layer went totally crispy but after 2 weeks it shot out a lot of new growth. Two other layerings went crispy but im not super worried due to the response of the first one. Im just gonna keep watering and keep it in a dish of water

has anyone had similar experiences? is it just me? am i missing a critical aftercare component? my usual aftercare is to pot in a 60/40 perlite-peat mix, and put in the shade. ive also tried straight spagnum for the potting with similar results (not a total crisp but the leaves were on death's door. Luckily the tree bounced back with new growth after 2-3 weeks)

pic attached is the first air layering, you can see the mix of crispy and new leaves

 

[NaoTK]

Did you grow enough roots before you separated the layer? Almost looks as if the footage on one side of the tree died or was lacking.

 

[hinmo24t]

big air layer, more roots needed to support it like @NaoTK asserted


i have smaller air layer maple that didnt have a lot of roots, but it didnt have a lot to manage
and is growing now. kept in morning and evening sun only and shade

good luck

 

[jeef16]

Did you grow enough roots before you separated the layer? Almost looks as if the footage on one side of the tree died or was lacking.

i thought the roots were enough, it definitely filled the ball of moss and im pretty sure i used the right size too. Used a rather large ball of moss

 

[hinmo24t]

after a layer or before seperating the layer it is common to reduce the top section to reduce what the new root system has to support/grow

heading into fall i fear for your maple to be honest but good job getting roots on your layer regardless

 

[Arlithrien]

i thought the roots were enough, it definitely filled the ball of moss and im pretty sure i used the right size too. Used a rather large ball of moss

In future attempts you could also try putting a transparent trashbag over the leaves to trap humidity while it grows more roots. Kind of like a cutting.

 

[jeef16]

In future attempts you could also try putting a transparent trashbag over the leaves to trap humidity while it grows more roots. Kind of like a cutting.

interesting! never head of that. I actually put my first air layering in my greenhouse and it still crisped up. At that point in time my three hypotheses were 1) since I cut off the excess branching and removed the air layer on the same day, the open cut on the trunk disturbed the water column as the fresh tissue was dehydrating at the same time the roots are given the full load of the tree 2) it was insanely hot that few burst of days when I harvested that the evaporative power in the greenhouse was just too much, even fully closed up, that the leaves crisped fast (this is the less likely possibility in my mind) and 3) the roots werent big enough. I tried to address #3 in my other air layerings by at least doubling the moss mass I started with and only harvested when I saw a significant amount of root growth (occupying at least one entire side of the moss ball, we cant get perfect radial roots every time sadly) and I addressed #2 by cutting off excess material a few days before air layer harvest so dehydration can occur without stressing the water column.

 

[jeef16]

after a layer or before seperating the layer it is common to reduce the top section to reduce what the new root system has to support/grow

heading into fall i fear for your maple to be honest but good job getting roots on your layer regardless

yea I did that as well, reduced it by at least half. Honestly I'm not too worried tbh, the first air layer that bounced back had half as much rooting as my others after I beefed up the moss ball, so this tree's genetics seem pretty strong. I'm going to make sure they don't hit direct frost or anything but I'm not worried about them not coming back next spring.